Finales of ‘Sharp Objects’ and ‘Preacher,’ Thai Cave Survivors on ’20/20′
A critical checklist of notable weekend TV:
Sharp Objects (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO): This creepy thriller really gets under your skin. And that’s especially true in the unnerving finale of the eight-part limited series based on Gillian Flynn’s page-turner. The psychological cuts and twisty surprises keep coming to the very last scene, as Camille (an astonishing Amy Adams) succumbs to her family demons while getting to the dark heart of the sordid crimes occurring in her Missouri hometown of Wind Gap. She’s a mess, and her hovering mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson, superb), is no help. Sometimes you really shouldn’t go home again.
Preacher (Sunday, 9/8c, AMC): No homecoming has been more fraught with Gothic mayhem than Jesse Cutler’s (Dominic Cooper) return to his roots in the ironically named Angelville during the third season of the blisteringly irreverent fantasy shocker. The season finale is a doozy, as a newly re-empowered Jesse decides whether to take on his demonic Gran’ma (a ferocious Betty Buckley) and her minions, while in New Orleans, an imperiled and impaled Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) tries to survive the vampire cult of Anne Rice wannabe Eccarius (Adam Croasdell). As for Tulip (Ruth Negga), her bus trip to Hell has been waylaid by Nazis in tanks, and that’s sure to end messily.
20/20 (Saturday, 10/9c, ABC): In a very special edition of the newsmagazine, correspondent James Longman revisits one of the summer’s most gripping news stories — which thankfully ended on a positive note — by interviewing the 12 boys and their soccer coach, Ekkapol “Ek” Chantawong, who were trapped for 18 days in a flooded cave in Thailand. The boys talk of their hopes for the future, and Coach Ek reveals how he kept his charges calm while waiting to be rescued.
America to Me (Sunday, 10/9c, Starz): Filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) spent a year preparing this provocative and intimately personal 10-part docuseries that examines racial inequality in the public school system. His focus: the racially diverse Oak Park and River Forest High School in Chicago, following 12 students, mostly of color, as they candidly assess the challenges they and their peers face.
Inside Weekend TV: National Geographic Channel’s Katie’s New Face: A Family’s Journey (Saturday, 9/8c) recounts the medical miracle of Katie Stubblefield, who at 21 became the youngest recipient of a face transplant in the U.S. The special goes inside the operating room at the Cleveland Clinic and features an emotional meeting between Katie and the grandmother of her face donor… The darkly comic Hollywood intrigue deepens on Epix’s terrific Get Shorty (Sunday, 9/8c) now that the scandalous events at the Santa Barbara film festival has spiked interest in The Admiral’s Mistress. An undaunted Miles (Chris O’Dowd) pursues a new film project and takes a harder line regarding custody of his daughter, while buddy Louis (Sean Bridgers) embarks on his unconventional relationship with Gladys (Sarah Stiles), only to become suspicious of Rick’s (Ray Romano) repeated visits to his “dentist.” … On HBO’s Emmy-nominated Insecure (Sunday, 10:30/9:30c), Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) each experience workplace issues, while Issa tries to be supportive of Daniel’s (Y’lan Noel) own creative insecurities.
